Context No. 3743 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Daniel (Greek) 2:29-35: in context

29“As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen. 30But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. 31“You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its appearance was terrifying. 32As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay. 34You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Daniel interprets the king's dream of a great statue made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, representing a succession of earthly kingdoms, each giving way to the next. Then a stone, cut out by no human hand, strikes the statue and shatters it, and the fragments blow away like chaff, while the stone grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth.

The meaning is clear and comforting. All the kingdoms of this world, however grand and dominant they seem, are temporary; they rise and fall and are finally swept away. But God's kingdom, the stone cut without human hands, is established by God alone, not by human effort, and it will grow to fill the earth and endure forever. There is deep perspective here for anyone tempted to fear the powers of this age. Empires that look permanent are passing; only the kingdom of God will last. And it is God's own work, not ours, a stone cut without hands.

Do I fix my hope on the kingdom of God, which is his own work and endures forever, rather than fearing the earthly powers that, however grand, will finally pass away?

Sources

Daniel 2:34: "You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet... and broke them in pieces."
Daniel 2:35: "The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
Daniel 2:44: "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed."